mattwigan

Hiya i am after some advice on my first tube amp. I curently own a Fender Mustang which is serving a purpose but i am looking to buy a Tube amp very soon that is versatile. I dont really have a style that i play but if i had to say a few it would be mainly classic rock varying from cleans to crunch. I play no metal at all not my thing.

Guitars i own at present arent anything special just a Vintage V100 (LP Copy) and a Cort G260 (Strat copy, hot rails).

My budget is max £500 quid and the max wattage 10 watts as it is only used in the house i have no intentions yet of gigging.

I am unsure of what amp (brand) and configuration (head and cab or combo) to buy as i am relatively new to guitar.

Just wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction. I have been looking lately at the Blackstar HT-5RS and the Vox AC4 with matching cab. Put like i said i am totally open to your suggestions.

cdr_salamander

You aren't going to find really anything that's 10 watts. 5 would be ok there isn't much of a choice out there (you already listed the Vox I was going to say).

I would say bump up to 15 watts if you can. Check out the Egnater Tweaker 15 combo, I used it as a bedroom player for a while and could get great sound out of it without pissing off people around me.

ihartfood

Wattage doesn't dictate volume. It's a measure of how quickly the tubes will distort.

The Tweaker is an excellent choice - but since you're in the U.K. they may be more expensive.

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Kevin Saale

Whatever you get, make sure it has a master volume. If you get a non master volume amp, even under 5 watts, you will regret it for home use.

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kyle62

Honestly, if it's just for home use you might find yourself a little underwhelmed. I've owned a ton of lovely valve amps but I never use them at home; digital modelling like your Mustang is fun, versatile and really nice sounding at low volume.
Most valve amps need at least a reasonable amount of volume to get the speaker going, otherwise it can sound pretty thin and two-dimensional.

That aside, what amp models do you generally prefer using on your Mustang?

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ihartfood

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kyle62

I use my mate's TT combo as a backup amp. Awesome little bit of kit, if a bit fizzy, but really not versatile at all!

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JKHC

I'd recommend you just get a decent amp with a master volume.

(flameshield up) Power tube breakup is overrated (/flameshield)

And I prefer the lil' night train to the AC4 you mentioned. I have both, and while the AC4 is very good for cleany-crunch sounds, the lil night train sounds better overall.
But for 500, you can get a ~15w amp with a MV.

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Cathbard

Do you ever think that you may want to jam with a drummer?

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mattwigan

My cousin is a great drummer and maybe when I reach a decent level of playing yer that could be a possibility to jam with a drummer but at the moment have very much just learning barre chords. I have looked at the Lil night train would that be decent with the matching cab think its a 1x10. Also I will want to run some pedals eventually is the lil night train good when linked to pedals?

http://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-a...and-cab-set.asp

Cathbard

Get an AC15.



Edit: Hang on - England.
http://www.valvepower.co.uk/18w_amp.htm

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mattwigan

Anybody tried the blackstar ht5-r? Can the lil night train do clean?

Dave_Mc

blackstar ht5 isn't all-tube. for the more vintage tones you're after, i'd rather have an all-tube amp, personally. if you don't care, then go for it.

i wouldn't get the matching cab with the vox ac4, i don't think it's made from plywood. there are plenty of similarly cheap (actually, probably cheaper, nice work vox ) plywood 1x12 cabs from the likes of VHT, blackheart, jet city and the like which i'd be getting ahead of the vox (though i haven't tried them).

valvepower is a great suggestion. Mine has been acting up recently (need to get it fixed), but when it was working perfectly it was awesome (heck it still sounds pretty good even now it's not perfect). that's gonna be hard to beat for the tones you want at your budget and at home volumes, and also should be loud enough for smaller gigs. it's also cheap enough that you could get e.g. that vht cab i mentioned and swap the speaker for a greenback or g12h30 (or other companies' clone/inspired-by speakers).

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JoeFlips

I +1'd the tubemeister on your other thread, but I don't know if you check that thread anymore. Anyway, check it out. It might be good if you eventually wind up gigging.

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Dave_Mc

i'm not convinced it's all-tube either (though will reserve judgement until i see a schematic).

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JoeFlips

yeah I know. It's a little sketchy with the amount of pre-amp gain it has, but I like the way it sounds and that's all that matters. I suppose that it's possible that it isn't, but, like you said, we won't know until we see a schematic.

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☞ Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar

R_Gallagher_Fan

VHT Special 6 Ultra! I even have the same cort as you. This amp can handle blues, classic rock, clean tones and crunch tones. It's even loud enough for playing with a drummer!

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gregs1020

the tweaker combo should work well for what you want to do.

haven't tried the valvepower but it's probably a good idea as well.